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The anticipated race conditions, weather, tide, sea state... it's the information that participants in the 2017 Round the Island Race are eager to know to give them that competitive edge.

Raymarine have been providing this essential pre-race data for over 10 years, and we are proud to announce that we will be back at the Island Sailing Club for the 2017 Live Weather Briefing on the evening before the race.

What's more, on the days leading up to the race, Raymarine will be providing daily weather forecasts plus hints and tips from our experts, straight to your email inbox - all for FREE!

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Register with us for notifications on the Live Weather briefing for the Round The Island Race 2017.

There is rather a procession of lows over the next few days. Today we are in between two, with one centred over S Scandinavia & the next one just SW of Ireland. This next low should move slowly NE overnight into Tuesday, with another weak low developing over N France which will drive the Channel weather. This should give us light to moderate SE to NE today & tomorrow with more cloud and some quite heavy rain on Tuesday.

The low to the N should become dominant on Tuesday night into Wednesday & Thursday, bringing a NW backing W/WSW airflow with a succession of weak troughs & fronts bringing a mixture of sunshine & showers, some quite heavy.

By Friday it should be off to the E, with N/NW flow over the south coast, quite strong at times with squally showers. This should be followed by a new low bringing moderate to strong WNW/W on Saturday with a mostly dry day and a mixture of sunshine & broken cloud. Saturday is expected to be around 15-17˚C, which will feel 3-4˚C less on the water with wind chill. Visibility should be good, moderate in any rain. Sea state S of the Island will probably be around 2m with this forecast. This should continue into Sunday too.

Gusts are likely to be 1/3 as much again as the average wind speed. Squall-driven gusts may be more – the deeper the cloud, the stronger the gust.

Tuesday 27th: E/ESE 8-12 (gusting 18) kts before noon, easing & veering SE 6-10 kts after, veering further SW 5-8 kts overnight. 17˚C. Cloudy and quite wet day, with squally showers and possibly some thunder in the afternoon. These showers will bring significant gusts. Again there will be 1-2 kts more just off Cowes when the wind is E.

Thursday 29th: WNW/NW 7-11 (15) kts. 16˚C. Overcast with some sunny patches, and the airflow is moist with a succession of troughs and weak fronts coming through. The squally showers associated will sometimes be quite strong.

Today, Tuesday, will see the last of the E wind coming off the ridge over the North Sea. There is a developing low currently over Ireland moving E, and today should see the wind mostly moderate ESE, veering & dropping SE this afternoon then light WSW in the evening & overnight. It will be a wet & muggy day, with showers, some heavy & thundery, on and off after noon and through the night. By tomorrow, Wednesday, this low should be centred over S England and have grown in size if not in strength, with a succession of weak fronts & troughs circulating. This will bring a light to moderate W, veering NW later on, and a mostly overcast and showery day.

On Thursday the low should be centred in the S North Sea, bringing a moderate NNW backing W/WSW airflow through the Solent, still with cloudy and occasionally showery conditions. Into Friday this low should be moving further E with the E edge of a ridge moving in across Ireland & the W UK. This should give moderate occasionally blustery W veering NW winds into Friday night.

This ridge should flatten out ahead of the next low on Saturday morning. This will bring a moderate, occasionally gusty, NW wind to start, backing moderate to strong W later on. There should be a lot more sun than previous days, with less chance of rain too. These moderate to strong W should persist through Sunday.

Gusts are likely to be 1/3 as much again as the average wind speed. Squall-driven gusts may be higher still – the deeper the cloud, the stronger the gust.

Tuesday 27th: ESE 10-14 (gusting 16) kts before noon, easing & veering SE 5-9 kts after, veering further SW 5-8 kts overnight. 17˚C. Cloudy and wet day, with squally gusty showers, some possibly thundery, in the afternoon. There will be 1-2 kts more just off Cowes when the wind is ESE.

Met Office analysis for 0100 today (top) and forecast for 0100 tomorrow (bottom). E still coming in this morning, changing W later on as the low over Ireland moves E and becomes more complex overnight.

Thermal infra-red images for 0100 (left) & 0700 (right) this morning. Low slowly moving in over Ireland, further convection clusters over Europe & Biscay that will develop into the rather amorphous low shown in tomorrow morning’s forecast chart above.

Today will be a light wind, quite oppressive and wet day. The collection of large convective clusters is coming together to form a low today, loosely centred to the E, and this will bring light NW through today & tonight with a lot of drizzle and occasionally heavy rain. The Met Office has issued a yellow rain warning, but so far most of it is falling in the W. This low will move gradually N overnight into tomorrow, Thursday, with the wind backing NW through to SW through the day and staying light to moderate. It will be a cloudy but drier day.

On Friday the main body of this low should move E towards the Baltic, with a ridge coming in from the Atlantic. This will bring initially light SW winds as the low moves away, veering NW/NNW later as the leading edge of the ridge moves E. It will be a cloudy day again but brighter, with occasional showers. This ridge seems to have slowed down, and so Saturday should start off with moderate and sometimes gusty NNW, backing WNW/W through the afternoon. It should be a brighter day again, with broken cloud, sunny spells and possibly the occasional shower. This moderate WNW should persist through Sunday, together with the mostly dry but cloudy skies.

Gusts are likely to be 1/3 as much again as the average wind speed. Squall-driven gusts may be higher still – the deeper the cloud, the stronger the gust.

Friday 30th: SW 4-7 initially, becoming quite shifty & patchy then settling in and building NNW 8-12 by dusk. 19˚C. Overcast, brighter spells with perhaps even sunny patches in the afternoon, some showers.

Met Office: SW/WSW 5-7 veering NNW 9-12 (gusting 15) by dusk;

ECMWF: SW 5-8 veering N 7-11 after dusk;

NOAA’s GFS model: NW 4-6 building 8-12 through the day 7 overnight.

Saturday 1st July: NNW 10-15 (20) to start, backing W/WNW 10-15 (20) after noon. 19˚C. Patchy cloud, sunny spells, mostly dry. Any sun will warm the Island making the winds going over it in the afternoon more gusty & shifty. Visibility should be good except in any rain.

Met Office analysis for 0100 today (top) and forecast for 0100 tomorrow (bottom). Low starting to come together and showing more definition by tomorrow. Much moisture around – fronts & troughs will make it a grey & damp day.

Thermal infra-red images for 0100 (left) & 0400 (right) this morning. All rather messy – slow moving front coming in from the West Country, combining with convection all over the S North Sea.

Met Office forecast for Saturday July 1st, 1300. Moderate NNW about to back WNW as the ridge pushes over. The sequence forecast has slowed down a little from yesterday.

The low centred on the W edge of the North Sea should stay much where it is today, and slowly rotate. As it does the early morning N winds should back WSW, and remain light throughout. It should be another cloudy day, but drier than yesterday. During Friday the low will initially remain there, but then start to get pushed E by the incoming ridge from the N Atlantic, with the breeze veering NNW overnight, with more sunny patches too. On Saturday the ridge should pass over with the next low creeping in to the W. The light to moderate NNW/N winds should remain for the morning, staring to back towards WNW around noon. It should be a mostly dry day with a mixture of sunshine & cloudy patches. This should carry on through Sunday, with moderate W expected.

Gusts are likely to be 1/3 as much again as the average wind speed. Squall-driven gusts may be higher still – the deeper the cloud, the stronger the gust.

Saturday 1st July: initially NNW 9-13 (18), backing WNW 8-12 (15) in the early afternoon. 20˚C. Patchy cloud with sunny spells & mostly dry. The Island warming during the day will make the afternoon winds more shifty & patchy. The visibility should be good, perhaps moderate in any rain.

The low currently centred on the Yorkshire coast will gradually move across the North Sea to Scandinavia today & overnight, with a ridge of high pressure pushing in behind it. As this happens the wind today will shift between the present light NNW & light WNW, settling in after noon & building overnight to a light to moderate NW. There is a lot of rain to the W over Lyme Bay right now, but most of it should stay over there with brighter conditions through the afternoon.

Tomorrow, Race Day, will see the ridge push towards & eventually over the Island, bringing a light to moderate NNW backing W wind. There are some decaying fronts around, but after an early shower around start time the day should brighten and warm up with sunny patches.

On Sunday the new low behind the ridge should carry on over the top of Scotland, with a light to moderate W airflow, broken stratus cloud and the occasional shower.

Gusts are likely to be 1/3 as much again as the average wind speed. Squall-driven gusts may be higher still – the deeper the cloud, the stronger the gust.

Friday 30th: NNW 54-7 to start, then quite shifty & patchy between NNW & WNW until early afternoon when it should settle in NW 8-12. 20˚C. Cloudy with a chance of showers to start, brightening with sunny patches by noon & through the afternoon.

Saturday 1st July: NNW 9-13 at the start, then starting to back gradually & ease NW 7-11 by noon, backing further W 8-12 by mid-afternoon. 21˚C. After a cloudy and possibly showery start the day should get brighter with more sunny patches, and as the land heats up the wind blowing over it will become more shifty, patchy & gusty, especially coming off the high ground on the E side of the Island. Visibility should be good, with a little haze.

Met Office analysis for 0100 today (top) and forecast for 0100 tomorrow (bottom). Low moving E across the North Sea, ridge pushing in from the W. New low NW of Ireland by tomorrow morning.

Thermal infra-red images for 0100 (left) & 0700 (right) this morning. Cloud bands associated with the low moving gradually E, clear strip of the ridge with streaks of lower, grey, N/S clouds in between it & the following low. Less cloud upwind of the Island now.

Met Office forecast for Saturday July 1st, 1300. Moderate NW with a bend in the isobars backing the wind WNW then W just approaching. Some decaying fronts around (the ones with the + symbols), so cloudy with sunny patches.

Watch Live

Live Weather Briefing

The anticipated race conditions, weather, tide, sea state... it's the information that participants in the 2017 Round the Island Race are eager to know to give them that competitive edge.

Raymarine have been providing this essential pre-race data for over 10 years, and we are proud to announce that we will be back at the Island Sailing Club for the 2017 Live Weather Briefing on the evening before the race.

What's more, on the days leading up to the race, Raymarine will be providing daily weather forecasts plus hints and tips from our experts, straight to your email inbox - all for FREE!

Sign Up Now!

Register with us for notifications on the Live Weather briefing for the Round The Island Race 2017.

There is rather a procession of lows over the next few days. Today we are in between two, with one centred over S Scandinavia & the next one just SW of Ireland. This next low should move slowly NE overnight into Tuesday, with another weak low developing over N France which will drive the Channel weather. This should give us light to moderate SE to NE today & tomorrow with more cloud and some quite heavy rain on Tuesday.

The low to the N should become dominant on Tuesday night into Wednesday & Thursday, bringing a NW backing W/WSW airflow with a succession of weak troughs & fronts bringing a mixture of sunshine & showers, some quite heavy.

By Friday it should be off to the E, with N/NW flow over the south coast, quite strong at times with squally showers. This should be followed by a new low bringing moderate to strong WNW/W on Saturday with a mostly dry day and a mixture of sunshine & broken cloud. Saturday is expected to be around 15-17˚C, which will feel 3-4˚C less on the water with wind chill. Visibility should be good, moderate in any rain. Sea state S of the Island will probably be around 2m with this forecast. This should continue into Sunday too.

Gusts are likely to be 1/3 as much again as the average wind speed. Squall-driven gusts may be more – the deeper the cloud, the stronger the gust.

Tuesday 27th: E/ESE 8-12 (gusting 18) kts before noon, easing & veering SE 6-10 kts after, veering further SW 5-8 kts overnight. 17˚C. Cloudy and quite wet day, with squally showers and possibly some thunder in the afternoon. These showers will bring significant gusts. Again there will be 1-2 kts more just off Cowes when the wind is E.

Thursday 29th: WNW/NW 7-11 (15) kts. 16˚C. Overcast with some sunny patches, and the airflow is moist with a succession of troughs and weak fronts coming through. The squally showers associated will sometimes be quite strong.

Today, Tuesday, will see the last of the E wind coming off the ridge over the North Sea. There is a developing low currently over Ireland moving E, and today should see the wind mostly moderate ESE, veering & dropping SE this afternoon then light WSW in the evening & overnight. It will be a wet & muggy day, with showers, some heavy & thundery, on and off after noon and through the night. By tomorrow, Wednesday, this low should be centred over S England and have grown in size if not in strength, with a succession of weak fronts & troughs circulating. This will bring a light to moderate W, veering NW later on, and a mostly overcast and showery day.

On Thursday the low should be centred in the S North Sea, bringing a moderate NNW backing W/WSW airflow through the Solent, still with cloudy and occasionally showery conditions. Into Friday this low should be moving further E with the E edge of a ridge moving in across Ireland & the W UK. This should give moderate occasionally blustery W veering NW winds into Friday night.

This ridge should flatten out ahead of the next low on Saturday morning. This will bring a moderate, occasionally gusty, NW wind to start, backing moderate to strong W later on. There should be a lot more sun than previous days, with less chance of rain too. These moderate to strong W should persist through Sunday.

Gusts are likely to be 1/3 as much again as the average wind speed. Squall-driven gusts may be higher still – the deeper the cloud, the stronger the gust.

Tuesday 27th: ESE 10-14 (gusting 16) kts before noon, easing & veering SE 5-9 kts after, veering further SW 5-8 kts overnight. 17˚C. Cloudy and wet day, with squally gusty showers, some possibly thundery, in the afternoon. There will be 1-2 kts more just off Cowes when the wind is ESE.

Met Office analysis for 0100 today (top) and forecast for 0100 tomorrow (bottom). E still coming in this morning, changing W later on as the low over Ireland moves E and becomes more complex overnight.

Thermal infra-red images for 0100 (left) & 0700 (right) this morning. Low slowly moving in over Ireland, further convection clusters over Europe & Biscay that will develop into the rather amorphous low shown in tomorrow morning’s forecast chart above.

Today will be a light wind, quite oppressive and wet day. The collection of large convective clusters is coming together to form a low today, loosely centred to the E, and this will bring light NW through today & tonight with a lot of drizzle and occasionally heavy rain. The Met Office has issued a yellow rain warning, but so far most of it is falling in the W. This low will move gradually N overnight into tomorrow, Thursday, with the wind backing NW through to SW through the day and staying light to moderate. It will be a cloudy but drier day.

On Friday the main body of this low should move E towards the Baltic, with a ridge coming in from the Atlantic. This will bring initially light SW winds as the low moves away, veering NW/NNW later as the leading edge of the ridge moves E. It will be a cloudy day again but brighter, with occasional showers. This ridge seems to have slowed down, and so Saturday should start off with moderate and sometimes gusty NNW, backing WNW/W through the afternoon. It should be a brighter day again, with broken cloud, sunny spells and possibly the occasional shower. This moderate WNW should persist through Sunday, together with the mostly dry but cloudy skies.

Gusts are likely to be 1/3 as much again as the average wind speed. Squall-driven gusts may be higher still – the deeper the cloud, the stronger the gust.

Friday 30th: SW 4-7 initially, becoming quite shifty & patchy then settling in and building NNW 8-12 by dusk. 19˚C. Overcast, brighter spells with perhaps even sunny patches in the afternoon, some showers.

Met Office: SW/WSW 5-7 veering NNW 9-12 (gusting 15) by dusk;

ECMWF: SW 5-8 veering N 7-11 after dusk;

NOAA’s GFS model: NW 4-6 building 8-12 through the day 7 overnight.

Saturday 1st July: NNW 10-15 (20) to start, backing W/WNW 10-15 (20) after noon. 19˚C. Patchy cloud, sunny spells, mostly dry. Any sun will warm the Island making the winds going over it in the afternoon more gusty & shifty. Visibility should be good except in any rain.

Met Office analysis for 0100 today (top) and forecast for 0100 tomorrow (bottom). Low starting to come together and showing more definition by tomorrow. Much moisture around – fronts & troughs will make it a grey & damp day.

Thermal infra-red images for 0100 (left) & 0400 (right) this morning. All rather messy – slow moving front coming in from the West Country, combining with convection all over the S North Sea.

Met Office forecast for Saturday July 1st, 1300. Moderate NNW about to back WNW as the ridge pushes over. The sequence forecast has slowed down a little from yesterday.

The low centred on the W edge of the North Sea should stay much where it is today, and slowly rotate. As it does the early morning N winds should back WSW, and remain light throughout. It should be another cloudy day, but drier than yesterday. During Friday the low will initially remain there, but then start to get pushed E by the incoming ridge from the N Atlantic, with the breeze veering NNW overnight, with more sunny patches too. On Saturday the ridge should pass over with the next low creeping in to the W. The light to moderate NNW/N winds should remain for the morning, staring to back towards WNW around noon. It should be a mostly dry day with a mixture of sunshine & cloudy patches. This should carry on through Sunday, with moderate W expected.

Gusts are likely to be 1/3 as much again as the average wind speed. Squall-driven gusts may be higher still – the deeper the cloud, the stronger the gust.

Saturday 1st July: initially NNW 9-13 (18), backing WNW 8-12 (15) in the early afternoon. 20˚C. Patchy cloud with sunny spells & mostly dry. The Island warming during the day will make the afternoon winds more shifty & patchy. The visibility should be good, perhaps moderate in any rain.

The low currently centred on the Yorkshire coast will gradually move across the North Sea to Scandinavia today & overnight, with a ridge of high pressure pushing in behind it. As this happens the wind today will shift between the present light NNW & light WNW, settling in after noon & building overnight to a light to moderate NW. There is a lot of rain to the W over Lyme Bay right now, but most of it should stay over there with brighter conditions through the afternoon.

Tomorrow, Race Day, will see the ridge push towards & eventually over the Island, bringing a light to moderate NNW backing W wind. There are some decaying fronts around, but after an early shower around start time the day should brighten and warm up with sunny patches.

On Sunday the new low behind the ridge should carry on over the top of Scotland, with a light to moderate W airflow, broken stratus cloud and the occasional shower.

Gusts are likely to be 1/3 as much again as the average wind speed. Squall-driven gusts may be higher still – the deeper the cloud, the stronger the gust.

Friday 30th: NNW 54-7 to start, then quite shifty & patchy between NNW & WNW until early afternoon when it should settle in NW 8-12. 20˚C. Cloudy with a chance of showers to start, brightening with sunny patches by noon & through the afternoon.

Saturday 1st July: NNW 9-13 at the start, then starting to back gradually & ease NW 7-11 by noon, backing further W 8-12 by mid-afternoon. 21˚C. After a cloudy and possibly showery start the day should get brighter with more sunny patches, and as the land heats up the wind blowing over it will become more shifty, patchy & gusty, especially coming off the high ground on the E side of the Island. Visibility should be good, with a little haze.

Met Office analysis for 0100 today (top) and forecast for 0100 tomorrow (bottom). Low moving E across the North Sea, ridge pushing in from the W. New low NW of Ireland by tomorrow morning.

Thermal infra-red images for 0100 (left) & 0700 (right) this morning. Cloud bands associated with the low moving gradually E, clear strip of the ridge with streaks of lower, grey, N/S clouds in between it & the following low. Less cloud upwind of the Island now.

Met Office forecast for Saturday July 1st, 1300. Moderate NW with a bend in the isobars backing the wind WNW then W just approaching. Some decaying fronts around (the ones with the + symbols), so cloudy with sunny patches.